Apparatus for air conditioning



June 22, 1943.

A. H. ROBSON APPARATUS FOR AIR CONDITIONING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N 5 Y m E Tm m N w w o R m 1 a R B U A a 3 9 1 Y B l t P e s d e 1 1 F I G F June22,- 1943. A. H. ROBSQN APPARATUS FOR AIR CONDITIONING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Sept. 12, 1939 BIA JIVVEIV'TOR. AUBR Y H.ROB$ON Patented June 22,1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,322,469, I i APPARATUS roa Amconm'rroivmc Aubrey H. Robson, Detroit, Mich.

Application September 12, 1939, Serial No. 294,518

' claims. ('c1.1ss--4) I This invention relates to improved apparatusfor conditioning air, and aims to provide comtemperature and humidity ofthe air.

An important object of the invention is to provide improved means forcontrolling the defhumidification of air by means of a deliquescentagent, such as calcium chloride, and to improve upon the method andapparatus disclosed in the copending application of Hiram J. Kaufman,Serial No. 687,995, filedSeptember 2, 1933, now Letters.Patent No.2,175,469, dated October 10, 1939.

Another important object of the invention is to provide improved meansfor supporting the hygroscopic or deliquescent agent, in a manner whichallows such agent to workits way downwardly with respect to itssupporting means while being consumed, and to be dissolved away withoutunwanted sticking or binding in the supporting means, despite,thetendency of such sub-. stances to cake into a block-like mass whileabsorbing moisture.

Another object of the present invention is to provide improved means forutilizing the saturated solution which drips from the deliquescent agentto provide a secondary dehumidifying stage, having a greatly extendedsurface area with which the air tobe treated must engage before reachingthe solid deliquescent agent.

A further object is to so arrange the secondary dehumidifying stage thatit is self-cleaning.

Another object is to provide means for recirculating the calciumchloride solution which drips from the secondary stage, to maintain therelatively large secondary surface in thoroughly wetted condition.

Still another important object is to provide means for accumulating thewater removed from the air in the bottom of the casing, and

waste of such agent, and interfere with the effectiveness of theapparatus by wetting the dehydrating agent near the outlet.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent 'from the followingdescription, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawingsillustrating preferred embodiments of my invention and wherein similarreference. numerals designate similar parts throughout the severalviews.

In the drawings: 7

Figure 1 is an isometric perspective view, partly broken away, of an airconditioning system incorporating the principles of this invention.

Figure 1-A is a perspective view of the same from above, with the topremoved.

Figure 2 is a perspective view, similar to Figure 1, but showing thedehumidifying unit only of a somewhat modified construction.

Referring now to the drawings, and-particularly to Figures 1, '1A, whichshow the juxtaposed cooling and dehumidifying units, which areordinarily covered by a common casing (not shown), it will be seen thatreference character I designates a stack-like portionforming part of aninner sheet metal casing for the dehumidifylng unit. The dehumidifyingunit also includes a base portion, 2, having an air inlet, I 0, in whichis mounted a fan 2|. rected downwardly, and enters the stack from below,through a grille l, whereafter itfiows upwardly through thedehumidifying agencies contained in the stack.

Such-dehumidifying agencies consist of a primary surface, generallydesignated l5, and a secondarysurface, generally designated 6. Thesecondary surface is that first engaged by the air, and consists of arelatively finely divided and pervious material having a relativelylarge surface area, such as steel or copper wool, glass wool or thelike. Such secondary surface is adapted to be kept wet by the solutiondripping from the primary surface, which is located in the stack abovethe secondary surface. In the shown construction a copper wool bat 6 isheld between the grille 4 and a transverse top grille 5, which alsosupports-the primary surface.

The primary surface consists of a plurality of spaced, verticallydisposed open-topped cylindrical or tubular vessels 9, formed ofscreening or other foraminous material, resting upon the grille 5, andheld in spaced relation by separator grids 1, 8. A top screen 23, placedover the tops of the vessels 9, is provided with openings registeringwith each vessel, through which the tubes may be filled. The screen 23is preferably fine enough to prevent the hygroscopic material,

which is used in flaked or granular form, from The inflowins' air isdidischarged from the outlet, 42. Y

portion 35 enclosing cooling means shown as consisting of-a. tank- Iiadaped to contain ice and/or cold water, although it will be understoodthat cooling coils, or any other suitable cooling means might beemployed. A separate fan, ll, arranged ing the action of the latter indehydrating the air I in a separate air. inlet 3!, forces air againstand around the tank to cool the same before it is It will be noted thatthe moisture flows downwardly to the bottom of the casing, where it maybe allowed to collect, andthat the upward counterflow of the'air tendsto promote most effective moisture removal due to the fact that thedrying air in its upward flow meets constantly dryer dehumidifyingsurface. Caking of the hygroscopic material in the prim y containers 9does not interfere with airflow, since in the primary section the airmay travel in the spaces between the tubular containers, and merelypasses over the surface of the hygroscopic material therein. As suchmaterial dissolves at the surface, it works its way downward insdlution,

.and flows downwardly onto the secondary surface, where it spreads overthe'extended surface,

. and by keeping it moist, provides a greatly increased area, havingdehumidifyins action and which is adapted to remove a proportion of thewater vapor from the air before the primary surface is reached. p 1

One side of the stack is extended downwardly inside the inlet casing, toprovide a baflie, designated 32, adapted to limitthe amount of waterrises so high asto engage the baiiie. A plug as I9 may be provided forconvenience in draining.

The control mechanism consists of separate humidity and temperatureresponsive devices, located in the inlets l0, 3!, respectively, and .ar-

of the fan motors '22, 4| in response to'the humidity and temperature ofthe air flowing in from:

from one another in the stack IA, a chamber ISA,

being left the'rebetween, while the air inlet is separatedfrom the stackby a bailie 32A which forces .the air to flow downwardlybeneath a panit,

which is elevated. above the bottom of the easing, the air passingaround the opposite end of the pan and entering the bottom of the'stack,

where it flows upwardly in similar fashion gardless of the rate of dripfrom the primary surface. and to assist in keeping the upper portions ofthe primary material dry, thus assist silk, or other light andrelatively impervious material. The dampers areeasily lifted by theupflowing air when the fan is in operation, but close the stack, toprevent down flow of air, when the machine is idle. It will beunderstood that without such provision,- .due'to the lower vaporpressureof such hygroscopic material in solution, air would flowdownwardly into the stack and act upon the upper part of the primarymaterial.

Due to the counter flow arrangement, the secondary surface isself-cleaning, and the removal of water from the air is most effectivedue to the fact that the air contacts progressively drier deliquescentmaterial as the air becomes dried out, in passing upwardly through thestack. 7

It will be noted that the entire dehumidifying means may be removedthrough the open top of the. stack at will, to enable convenient repairand replacement of these parts, which are subjected to the strongestcorrosive action of the ments to be considered in all respectiasillustrative and not restrictive; reference being had to the appendedclaims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope ofthe invention.-

40 ranged to independently control theoperation I claim:

a plurality of independent reticulated tubular containers arranged insubstantially vertical, parallel and spaced relation and each adapted tocontain a quantity of deliquescent material,

. said guiding means being'arranged to direct air thereupon duringcharging, said parts being arthrough the'secondary surface and then theprimary surface.

An opening IIA is left in the side of the stack, through which aspray ofsolution may be thrown by a spray discll, which dips into the upper tankit. The disc may be turned by a motor 34. The upper tank is kept fllledbythe drip from the dehumidifying agencies, while the overflow from suchpan falls into the bottom of the casing, from which it may be drainedthrough an outlet ISA. The baiile'flA is-ofisuch len th as to cause theair inlet to'be shut oil by the rising solution when the level of thelatter reaches it, thus preventing the liquid from rising toohigh.

The capacity oi'vthe liquid-containing portion may be such that" thelevel rises to the baflle 12A andshuts off the inlet at about the-sametime that the hygroscopic material is exhausted. The

said portion of the casing in which said drip is adapted to collect, invposition'to coast with such over and through the spaces between saidcorltainers, a covering member for said containers arranged over theopen tops thereof, pervious to air, and having individual openingstherein registering with the open tops of saidtubular containers, saidcovering member being sufliciently dense to support deliquescentmaterial placed ranged in such manner that excess deiiquescent materialmay be brushed from the covering member into the tubular containers.

terial therein, means for'directing' a flow of air over saiddeliquescent material, said casing having a lower portion adapted tocollect drip from said deliquescent material, said casing having airinlet and outlet portions, and said air guiding means including a baiiielocated between the inlet and outlet and projecting downwardly intocollected drip to close commlmication between the inlet and outletwhen'the accumulated drip rises into contact with said baffle.

' 3. Air-conditioning means comprising in combination with a casinghaving a base portion and a substantially vertical smx portion, aplurality of superposition'eddehlnnidif'ying agencies. ar-

prising a screen member of a mesh too fine to allow the hygroscopicmaterial to pass therethrough, said cover means having a plurality offilling openings therein, one such opening being arranged over andregistering with each of said containers.

4. Air conditioning means comprising in combination with a casing havinga base portion and a substantially vertical stack portion, a pluralityof superposed dehumidifying agencies ar- I ranged in said stack portion,an upper one 'of said dehmidifying agencies including a plurality ofreticulated tubular containers independent of and spaced from oneanother to allow air flow upwardly therebetween and over the contents ofsaid containers, a quantity of hygroscopic material in said containers,and cover means arranged over the tops of said containers comprising ascreen member of a mesh too fine to allow the hygrostatic material topass therethrough, said 'cover means having a plurality of fillingopenings therein, one such opening being arranged over and registeringwith each of said containers, the stack being open topped, and saidcover means and containers being removable therethrough.

AUBREY H. ROBSON'.

